That friend was Dee West, who works for ChargeNet, a company which is rolling out electric car charging stations across the country.

The Te Tai Tonga candidate took delivery of the German-made car in Auckland on Friday and has been driving it to various appointments around the super city - including the Green Party's AGM at AUT's Sir Paul Reeves building.

The car has some impressive stats. It can go from 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds, with a top speed of 150km/h. On a full charge, which only takes around 30 minutes, it can travel around 170km.

And the important part: it doesn't pump out exhaust fumes.

Inside, there's a lack of the usual clutter you would find, mainly because there's no gear stick. There's also a big touch screen that controls everything, and a big sunroof too.

Ms Turei says the i3 is a great car to drive, although she was very cautious at first.